


Tip of the Iceberg

by hondansadeensommar



Series: Multifandom Hurt/Comfort Oneshots [33]
Category: MCND (Band)
Genre: Chronic Illness, Epilepsy, Epilepsy Warning, Gen, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Seizures, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hondansadeensommar/pseuds/hondansadeensommar
Summary: “Rest, aegi.  I’ve got you.”
Series: Multifandom Hurt/Comfort Oneshots [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1385671
Comments: 3
Kudos: 165





	Tip of the Iceberg

Junhyuk couldn’t help groaning as he tried to move.His whole body was sore, and he almost instantly recognized the acrid taste of his own bile as he began to come around, alongside the pounding in his skull of the headache that usually followed a seizure.Unfortunately, this time his headache seemed to be significantly worse than his usual post-seizure symptoms, which he knew likely meant that he’d hit his head.His chest also ached, and he couldn’t stop himself from coughing to try and get whatever was in his chest out.Coughing was painful, but it was thankfully over quickly.

“He’s still out?” Seongjun’s voice asked, as Junhyuk began to register that he was being held on his side by one of his _hyungs_ , while someone else stroked a hand through his hair.The fact that his members were with him was comforting, because that at least meant that he was safe and being taken care of properly.Although the older members hadn’t seen many seizures, thanks to the fact that Junhyuk’s epilepsy had been under control for most of his life, they had at least been taught what to do if he were to seize in front of them or if they ever found him mid-seizure.

“I think he’s starting to wake up now,” Seungmin replied, as the hand in his hair travelled down slightly to the back of Junhyuk’s neck, where it began to gently massage the tense muscles there.“He’s starting to make some noises, and he’s been moving a little…”

“What about his breathing?” Seongjun asked.

“Still not great… I’m pretty sure that he’s aspirated something…” Seungmin replied.“Manager- _hyung_ is getting an ambulance?”

“They’re still a few minutes out,” Seongjun replied.“Do we know if he took his meds this morning?”

“No idea… he left for school before I woke up,” Seungmin commented.

“We didn’t think to remind him…” Minjae’s voice replied.

“He’s normally really good about taking his meds… he _knows_ what can happen if he doesn’t take them,” Huijun added.“ _Aish_ … what if he’s really hurt?He was alone…”

“He’s breathing… worst case scenario, he’ll be in the hospital for a few days, and out for a couple of weeks while he heals,” Seongjun commented. 

Junhyuk whimpered as he felt the urge to cough again, knowing that it was going to hurt.It honestly felt as though his head was going to explode as he coughed, with one of his _hyungs_ supporting his weight to make sure he didn’t fall over on the floor.Junhyuk was especially thankful as he began to gag again from the coughing. 

“ _Aish_ … this is really bad…” Seungmin commented.

“He has to get it out… whatever’s in his lungs, it’s only going to make things worse if it doesn’t come out,” Seongjun replied.

Junhyuk was exhausted by the time his stomach finally calmed down, but that didn’t stop him from starting to cough again as his lungs tried to rid themselves of whatever he’d breathed in during his seizure.If it wasn’t for his _hyungs_ , Junhyuk was sure that he would have ended up face-down in his own bile.It took far more effort than it should have to force his eyes to open, although he couldn’t get them to focus on anything.

“Hey, _aegi_ … you’ve had a seizure, but you’re going to be fine,” Seongjun commented, as the older man gently stroked a hand across his cheek.“We’ve got an ambulance on the way to take you to get checked out, but you’re going to be fine.”

Junhyuk couldn’t help being distracted from the man’s attempts at comforting him as he heard the door opening and the sound of multiple other people hurrying into the room.

“What’s his name?” an unfamiliar voice asked, as Junhyuk saw someone kneeling directly in front of him and starting to open up the necessary supplies to get him stable enough to be transported to the hospital.

“Bang Junhyuk,” Seongjun replied.

“And how old is he?” the voice asked.

“Seventeen… his birthday is December 19th, 2004.”Junhyuk closed his eyes as someone slipped a mask over his face, giving him oxygen as another set of hands worked on checking his vital signs.

“Any medical conditions or medications we should know about?”

“He’s epileptic.He’s on 400 mg of Tegretol XR twice a day, 800 mg total.We aren’t completely sure that he took this morning’s dose, though,” Seongjun commented.“He hasn’t had a seizure in over a year, and the last time it was due to a couple of missed doses of his medication.”

“Do you know how long he was seizing today?” the voice asked.

“We don’t know… the seizure was already over by the time we found him, and he was choking on his own vomit,” Seungmin commented.“We cleared his mouth and put him on his side as soon as we found him.He’s been coughing a lot, and he was gagging again a moment ago.”

“Okay… let’s get an IV started, so that we can keep him stable while we transport him to the hospital,” the unfamiliar voice commented. 

Junhyuk forced himself to open his eyes as he was gently lifted onto the gurney, letting the paramedics adjust his body so that he was securely in the middle of it.“Junhyuk- _ssi_ , can you tell me where you are?”The question came from a different paramedic, who knelt by his right side as he worked on inserting the IV that had been suggested.

Junhyuk tried to answer the question, but all he managed to get out was a low grunting noise.“It takes him a while to be able to talk again after a seizure,” Seungmin replied.

“That’s okay… let’s try this another way,” the paramedic replied.“Junhyuk- _ssi_ , do you know where you are?”Junhyuk nodded, wincing as he began to cough again.The pain in his chest was getting worse, which Junhyuk knew was a bad sign.“Do you remember if you took your medication this morning, Junhyuk?”

Junhyuk shook his head slowly; he honestly didn’t remember if he’d taken the pills that morning before leaving for school.Junhyuk really didn’t even remember coming to the rehearsal room, even though he’d known where he was simply based on the wooden flooring that he’d seen when he’d first opened his eyes.“Right… we’re going to take you to the hospital to be checked out, and so that you can be treated for a possible case of aspiration pneumonia,” the first paramedic explained.“We’re going to strap you in first, and then we’ll go ahead and head to the hospital, okay?”

Junhyuk nodded, closing his eyes as the three men carefully used the gurney’s straps to make sure that he wouldn’t fall off if he were to start seizing again.“I can ride along, right?” Seongjun asked, as the paramedics began loading up their equipment to get ready to leave.“He’s a minor…”

“Are you a relative?” one of the paramedics asked.

“I’m one of his guardians,” Seongjun replied, shaking his head.“Junhyukkie’s parents don’t live in the city… our manager and I have legal guardianship.”

“Right… is someone contacting his parents?”

“Our manager is working on that right now,” Seongjun replied. 

“Okay.We just need to make sure that you stay out of the way if anything happens during the drive to the hospital,” one of the paramedics replied, as they finally got everything together and prepped to leave.

Junhyuk let his eyes close as they began to push the gurney out of the room, trying to focus onsetting enough oxygen into his lungs.Junhyuk knew that it was going to be bad; he hadn’t had issues breathing after a seizure in a _long_ time, but he distinctly remembered waking up with a tube down his throat after a similar episode as a small child.The last thing Junhyuk wanted was to end up on a ventilator again.

“Is he going to be okay?” Junhyuk heard Seongjun ask softly, as they loaded into the elevator to head down to the ambulance.

“His breathing is a little labored… we’ll know more once we get him into the hospital where he can be properly evaluated,” one of the paramedics replied.“Still, he’s awake and breathing on his own… those are both good signs.”

“ _Hyung_ …” Junhyuk whimpered, lifting his hand to try and find Seongjun without having to actually open his eyes.

“I’m right here, _aegi_ ,” Seongjun commented softly, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.“I’m not going to leave you, okay?”

Junhyuk began to cough again in the elevator, wincing at the pain in his chest as he tried to catch his breath again once the coughing subsided.“Hurts…”

“I know, _aegi_ … that’s why you’re going to the hospital, to get you checked out and get some help for your breathing,” Seongjun replied, squeezing Junhyuk’s hand again.“Just try to relax, okay?I’m right here.”

Junhyuk wasn’t happy when the leader had to let go of his hand as the paramedics loaded him into the back of the waiting ambulance, but the older man was back by his side as soon as the paramedics had the gurney strapped into the back of the ambulance and Junhyuk was hooked up to some kind of monitor to keep track of his heart rate and how much oxygen he was getting.The beeping was rather annoying, but all Junhyuk really cared about was the fact that Seongjun was there with him, holding his hand as soon as the paramedics allowed the man into the back of the ambulance.“See?I’m still here,” the leader commented, squeezing Junhyuk’s hand.

***

“Deep breaths, Junhyuk- _ssi_ … I know it’s uncomfortable, but this will help.”Junhyuk couldn’t help rolling his eyes at the instruction, knowing that if he took too deep of a breath it would only make him start coughing again.As much as he knew that he _needed_ to breathe in the medication, it hurt and Junhyuk really just wanted to sleep.He was exhausted; Junhyuk had already been tired _before_ he’d seized, but between the seizure and spending several hours being poked and prodded in the emergency department before he’d finally been brought up to a room for the night, Junhyuk wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep.Unfortunately, his lungs were struggling more than his doctor was comfortable with, which meant that he had to deal with at least one breathing treatment before he would be allowed to sleep.

Junhyuk could tell that the medication was starting to help his breathing, as the discomfort in his chest eased the longer he was hooked up to the nebulizer.Thankfully, the treatment didn’t last _that_ long, and soon enough the respiratory therapist was switching back to the regular oxygen mask and gently placing it back over his face.“There we go… now you can try to get some rest,” the woman commented, as she moved to clean everything up before she left.

“Thank you,” Seongjun commented, from where the older man was sitting in a chair next to the bed.With the exception of a brief period of time while he had been getting his chest x-rayed, the leader hadn’t been more than ten feet away from Junhyuk since they had left the company building.The leader had been texting with both their manager and Junhyuk’s parents all evening, keeping everyone updated on his condition.“You should try to get some rest… they’re probably going to wake you up in a couple of hours for more breathing treatments.”

“Can you…” Junhyuk began, feeling a little silly as he looked down at his lap.“Would it be too weird…?”

Seongjun smiled at him, chuckling slightly.“Do you want me to come up there and lay with you until you fall asleep?” the leader asked, putting his phone into his pocket and standing up.

“Please,” Junhyuk replied, moving himself to the side so that the older man could squeeze in next to him.The older man carefully removed the blue foam padding from the left side of the bed, lowering the railing so that he could climb up and put an arm around Junhyuk’s shoulders, pulling him in close so that Junhyuk’s head was resting against his shoulder.

“Better?” Seongjun asked softly.Junhyuk nodded, closing his eyes and relaxing into his _hyung_ ’s embrace.“Try to sleep, okay?I’ll be here until your parents arrive.”

“Thank you, _hyung_.”

Junhyuk managed to sleep for a couple of hours, until he was woken up by Seongjun getting out of the bed.“ _Hyung_ …” Junhyuk whimpered, reaching for the older man.

“Shh… the nurse is here to check on you.I’m not going anywhere,” Seongjun replied, as the leader moved back to the chair next to Junhyuk’s bed.

“I won’t keep you long, Junhyuk- _ssi_ … and as soon as we’re done, you and your _hyung_ can go back to sleep,” the nurse replied, as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his upper arm and started the machine before she pulled the oxygen mask down so that she could put the thermometer into his mouth.“When was the respiratory therapist in here?”

“Almost four hours ago… is everything okay?” Seongjun asked.

“It’s fine… his oxygen levels are a little on the low side, but respiratory should be coming in soon for his next breathing treatment,” the nurse replied, as she made a few notes on her computer about Junhyuk’s vital signs.She was quick to put the mask back over his face once the thermometer beeped, before adding more notes to the computer.“Still no fever, which is good… other than your oxygen levels, everything looks pretty normal.”

“So he’s okay?” Seongjun asked.

“He’s still sick, but he’s stable,” the nurse replied.“The inhaled steroids will help his lungs heal, and neurology will be coming back in the morning to discuss his medication…”

“We’re making changes?” Junhyuk asked.

“That’s up to your neurologist, but it’s possible… you’re well below the maximum daily dosage right now, and it’s fairly common for teenaged patients to need their medication adjusted as they grow,” the nurse replied.“You’re right about the age where most patients begin to have issues.For now, though, the best thing that you can do is try to get some rest.You’ve had a rough day, and you’re going to need to take it easy for a few days so that your lungs can heal.”

“Can I have some water first?” Junhyuk asked softly.

“Of course you can… I’ll bring back a pitcher in just a minute,” the nurse replied, as she finished her notes and cleaned up everything she’d used to check on him before turning back to Seongjun.“You can lay back down with him now… just make sure that you put the padding back on the railing if you get up and leave him alone.It’s there to protect him in case he has another seizure.”

“Will do,” Seongjun replied, smiling at the woman.“Thank you.”

The leader moved to sit on the side of the bed again, putting an arm around Junhyuk’s shoulders and ruffling his hair gently.“ _Hyung_ …” Junhyuk whined, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the older man’s shoulder.

“Relax… it’s not like we have a stylist _noona_ to get mad at me for messing up your hair,” Seongjun replied.

“My parents?” Junhyuk asked, suddenly realizing that it had been _hours_ since they’d been called about his seizure.

“Got delayed… car trouble,” Seongjun explained.“They’re going to leave first thing in the morning, but it’ll still take them a few hours to get here.But I promised you that I would stay until they got here, and I’m keeping that promise.”

“Thank you, _hyung_ …”

“Rest, _aegi_.I’ve got you.”


End file.
